Carbon Counselor Blog

New York banking on a green future

June 05, 2014

The state of New York so far hasn’t gotten the results it hoped for with its Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). The RPS’s goal of increasing renewable energy generation to 30 percent of total output by 2015 has fallen far short: less than 15 percent had been achieved by the end of 2013.

The state’s Public Service Commission has filed to replace the RPS with a Clean Energy Fund. It would become the bridge between the RPS and Governor Cuomo’s Green Bank, which isn’t slated to roll out until 2020. The Green Bank would earmark $1 billion for investments in energy efficiency and clean energy programs.

Currently, ratepayer fees fund incentives for green programs to meet the RPS. The Green Bank, on the other hand, would be funded by means of customer contributions until the Green Bank is fully operational in 2020.

So, in essence, the Green Bank does become an investment bank run by New York.